You decide Rae is going to be your ‘in’ with Alex. She seems as friendly with her as anyone, and of all the options is probably the body you’d prefer to end up in, should Vee stick you somewhere. Sure, it’s being a girl again, but Lane looks to have a faint hint of desperation, while Rae’s Instagram posts seem to suggest she’s destined for things bigger than Saratoga Falls – just like Vee’s intentions.
And it’s then you realize that you’ve been so focused on playing with identities that you hadn’t even thought about Shelly Nolan for more than a day, and how your stated goal is to free her from her stone prison. Is that because it’s never been your goal, just something to keep you motivated and excuse everything you’ve done? Or is it because the thought of her is just too acute, like a needle into a nerve, that you’ve done everything you can to block it out? Perhaps it’s a mixture of both. Vee swore that she’d help you with the book, and her prodigious speed at accessing the spells, even without your mind band, suggests she might be the person who can work out what the hell you’re going to do about the torn page that blocks the next spell.
If not, Shelly is dead. And the best you can hope for is to wear a new skin long enough that you can forget that simple truth. Sure, there’s a golem of her, but you don’t know if the masks age at all – if you guess right, they don’t. That means the golem is only going to hold up for a year, maybe two, before everyone gets suspicious. You need to fix Shelly before that. It’s a thought that steels your resolve. If you can keep Vee happy, then maybe you can get to the next spell… or better yet, get the book back completely.
You walk into the Cherry Brook Bakery and take a seat, wondering if you’re even in the right spot, but it’s not like you’ve got anywhere better to be. It’s going to be hours before the Warehouse party begins, and while you’re confident you can get in, you have no idea how much privacy you’ll be able to get to make a switch – there might be rooms upstairs, but it’s not like you’d have any reason to drag one of Alex’s friends off to one. You’re on a timetable, too; if you don’t make the switch tonight, your meagre funds are going to start evaporating, and that’ll mean a night at the Donna Motor Court, a rancid dive motel on the outskirts of town.
You’re almost giving up when the door swings open, and a familiar figure saunters in. Rae Caldwell is just like her Instagram feed: lean, almost like a thin line drawn up from the ground, dressed all in sleek black, with a dirty smile and perfect blonde hair bleached almost to white. She saunters up to the counter and places her order, then curls her lip in boredom, fishing out her cell and flicking through it.
It’s now or never, you figure. You stand up and walk over to her. “Hey,” you begin. “You’re Rae Caldwell, right? I follow you on Instagram.”
“Yeah?” the girl says, turning. She doesn’t smile, but her eyes flick over you like a scanner reading a barcode. “Huh. Cool.”
“Yeah, I just moved here. To Saratoga Falls, I mean. I’m starting classes at Eastman tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, wow, you’re keen,” Rae says without hesitating. “Most of us are gonna wait until Monday.”
“Uh, right, yeah! Monday. That’s what I meant. My name’s Gail.”
“Like a really bad rainstorm?” Rae says, still unblinking, before turning to pick up her ice tea. “Relax, I’m fucking with you. Nice to meet you. And it’s cool you follow me on Insta. I figured most of the followers were creepy old dudes in their pants.”
“Gross,” you say, only to get a nod and a smirk. “Yeah, well… ah, c'mon!” She turns to the counter. “R-A-E. It’s R-A-E! How many times do I have to come in here?” The barista shrugs at her comment, and she gives a dismissive roll of the eyes, along with a thin-lipped pffft. “So, where you move to?”
You hadn’t figured on the question, but you decide to stay close to home. “Acheson?”
“Ouch!” Rae laughs. “The township that time forgot. Slowing getting eaten up by the relentless march of Saratoga Falls. Well, I need to get to my peeps. Guess I’ll see you around, New Gail.” She rattles her iced coffee, and begins to walk out.
Rae sidesteps you, and heads out with a long slurp of her ice tea. You didn’t think this far ahead – even if you met her, there’s no way of swapping! You head back to your table, grab your bag and rush out after her, into the evening sun. Fortunately, she hasn’t got far; she seems to have stopped on the pavement outside, and is taking a selfie. She sees you in the image, because almost immediately stops.
“Ugh, c’mon New Gail!” she says, turning around and gesturing to her cell. “I’ve got like a half-hour window to get a good shot.”
You blush for a moment. “Sorry!” you say, scrambling for your next line. “Uh, I thought you were waiting for your friends?”
Rae shrugs. “They’ll be around when I need ‘em. Friend of mine kinda got banned from the Bakery, so she and Izzy usually meet me a…” she stops in her description. “Anyway, I didn’t say that because I was running late. I was just politely saying that I’m going.”
“Well, uh…” Rae looks at you, probably wondering how she’s picked up a stalker. Then it hits you. “Uh, why are you taking the photo here? Around the corner’s much better!”
Rae’s eyebrow flicks up doubtfully. “Around the corner is some lame church,” she says.
“Yeah, I know,” you add. “But it’s got better angles, y’know? I sort of, kind of, dabble in photography! Yeah! And you need good angles. If you want, I can show you?”
Rae’s eyebrow flicks up, this time hanging there longer. Then, with a shrug, she tucks her cell away. “Eh, what the heck it,” she concedes. “Those two can keep someone else waiting. Lead on, amigo.”
She walks over with a confident, if disinterested stride, holding out her iced coffee to you for a moment. Without thinking you accept it, grasping it awkwardly as she reaches into her handbag and pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. In moments, she’s whisked a flame to a cigarette between her lips and is exhaling slowly. It’s only when you’ve taken a few strides further that she puts the lighter away and takes the biodegradable cup back.
“This is the best coffee in town,” she says. “Well, best with ethical practices. You know how hard it is to get vegan coffee in Saratoga Falls?”
“Do you mean you drive across town for it?” you ask. Rae stifles a laugh, and takes another drag.
“Not exactly. I live on Harrison, or just off it anyway. This is just an easy walk for me. Speaking of, how’d you get down here? Too far to walk, and you aren’t exactly dressed for cycling. Not entirely sure what you’re dressed for, actually.””
“Uh, parents.” You manage. “Drop off, pick up, y’know.” You cross the road, and walk across the car park to the church, making sure you edge around the back. Rae, for her part, appraises it with a cool demeanor, tilting her head a little.
“Y’know what, New Gail? You’re not half bad at this,” she says, looking at the church spire. “I reckon we could do some pretty good shots here.”
“Actually, you know where’s really good?” you can’t believe how easily this is working. Obviously Rae doesn’t see Gail as any kind of threat. You walk over to the basement door, and reach down to where the spare key’s kept. You wave it in the fading light.
“Oh, Alex is gonna love you,” Rae says, almost disbelieving. “Probably going to adopt you as a new project. You already been down there?” The mention of Alex directly causes you to pause, realizing just how perfect Rae must be, but she misinterprets your sudden frozen stance as surprise. “What? You think I haven’t broken into a derelict before? It’s just property,” she walks toward the door. “No harm in taking a peek.”
You pass her the key, and let her open the door, quietly getting the mask out from your bag. But Rae isn’t paying attention. Without a moment’s hesitation, the key is slipped into the door, before she sets down her coffee on the pavement outside. You follow close, watching as she descends the stairs, before she takes the cigarette from her lips and slips it between her fingers.
“What a dump…” she begins, turning toward you – and straight into the path of the mask you press to her face.
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